Ciao World!?!

I have to admit.  

My mother just came home from the hospital on Tuesday, so I have not been as diligent about watching the news and keeping up with Twitter and Alexa Top Stories for a couple of weeks. My distraction is also evidenced by my lack of posts to this blog. My apologies.

Gees.  

Miss a week or two of CNN and you find out that you have less than a day to live before the world is going to end. So much to do and I am just too tired.  Oh well, at least I got the house cleaned today.

I wondered why The History Channel was running survival programming all day!

In retrospect, I was given clues all day - I just didn't pay attention.  

Finally, at about 7:00pm this evening, it all clicked.  Someone said Jesus was coming back tomorrow to rapture the church, and there would a global earthquake, and if you weren't fortunate enough be taken in the rapture, you would spend the next 5 months suffering unimaginable happenings here on earth until the end of the world as we know it comes on October 21, 2011.

Ouch.

 

Well, I personally do not believe the rapture will happen tomorrow, but I do  believe it will happen someday.  I doubt we'll have time to sell I Survived the Rapture t-shirts, put up Save the Date billboards or bank cash from other rapture paraphernalia. 

I could be wrong though.  

(In which case, may I thank you all now for your faithful reading, following and comments on my blog.)

I dunno.  Jesus wasn't really a Hollywood glam, billboard, showcase kinda guy.  Extraordinarily large angels, trumpets, thunder, earth-shaking, blink-of-an-eye stuff...now THAT'S how God does it!

So, what's the lesson learned for the day? 

Personally, I can only hope that I stay more tuned in to God on a daily basis, than I have been to CNN and Twitter! How about you?

"Take heed, watch and pray, for you do not know when the time is."

- Mark 13:33

The Shadow of the Cross - Part I

What happened during the week prior to Christ’s crucifixion on the Cross? 

Have you ever pondered that question? His own disciples had no idea at the time.  They were excited when Jesus entered Jerusalem because they were certain he was there to assert His power and take His position on the throne of David.  Their King was entering the city to release them from the oppressive Roman rule, and restore Israel to its former glory!

However, Jesus knew when He entered Jerusalem on what we now celebrate as Palm Sunday, He was there to fulfill his paschal duties – He was about to become the sacrificial lamb of Passover, as the sin offering for the world.

He knew he was about to suffer the most egregious, undignified, painful torture and death – the humiliating death of a common criminal.  Adding insult to injury – the legal proceeding which would condemn him to that terrible death would be one of the most ill-legal, botched trials in history. The voluntary execution of God by design.

The shadow of the cross.  

What a tragic triumph it would be.

Let's begin our contemplation toward Resurrection/Easter Sunday together, and perhaps...well perhaps we just might arrive there with a little different perspective than the usual...

THREE NAILS
An Original Poem and Picture by... Me!
~~~~~

The nails that caused God’s blood to flow

From Jesus’ hands and feet,

That poured atoning power for us -

REDEMPTIVE LOVE COMPLETE!

 (I wonder, how those nails did look,

So big and thick and strong?

They must have been to hold the King

Upon the cross so long!)

Did He know even as a child

The nails He used to build,

Would some day pin Him to a tree –

REDEMPTIVE LOVE FULFILLED!
  
(I wonder, how those nails did look,

So big and thick and strong?

They must have been to hold the King

Upon the cross so long!)

And to this day His hands still bear

The scars caused by those nails,

And yet He holds them out to us-

REDEMPTIVE LOVE PREVAILS!